Military Defection and the Arab Spring

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Risa A. Brooks
Keyword(s):  
First Generation ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Military Leaders ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Explanatory Factors ◽  
Revolutionary Movements ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Diffusion

The protests that began in Tunisia in December 2010, and quickly spread across the Arab world, have drawn significant attention to the impact of militaries and coercive institutions on protests and revolutionary movements. The actions of the militaries were a central determinant of the outcomes of the uprisings of 2010–2011. In Tunisia and Egypt the decision by military leaders to abstain from using force on mass protests to suppress them led to the downfall of the countries’ autocrats. In Syria and Bahrain, militaries defended political leaders with brutal force. In Yemen and Libya, militaries fractured, with some units remaining allied to the leader and using force on his behalf and others defecting. In still other states, leaders and militaries were able to forestall the emergence of large, regime-threatening protests.To explain these divergent outcomes, scholars and analysts have looked to a variety of explanatory factors. These focus on the attributes of the militaries involved, their civil-military relations, the size and social composition of the protests, the nature of the regime’s institutions, and the impact of monarchical traditions. These explanations offer many useful insights, but several issues remain under-studied. These include the impact of authoritarian learning and diffusion on protest trajectory. They also include the endogeneity of the protests to the nature of a country’s civil-military relations (i.e., how preexisting patterns of civil-military relations affected the possibility that incipient demonstrations would escalate to mass protests). Scholars also have been understandably captivated by the aforementioned pattern of military defection-loyalty, focusing on explaining that observed difference at the expense of studying other dependent variables. The next generation of scholarship on the uprisings therefore would benefit from efforts to conceptualize and investigate different aspects of variation in military behavior.Overall, the first-generation literature has proved enormously useful and laid the foundation for a much richer understanding of military behavior and reactions to popular uprisings in the Arab world and beyond.

scholarly journals NEUČINKOVITOST VOJSKE KOT POKAZATELJ NEUSTREZNOSTI CIVILNEGA NADZORA (2)

2015 ◽  
pp. 11-23
Author(s):  
BRANIMIR FURLAN
Keyword(s):  
First Generation ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Civilian Control ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Military Effectiveness ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact

Prispevek je nadaljevanje analize o vzročno-posledični povezavi med civilnim nadzorom in učinkovitostjo vojske. V prvem delu je bil predstavljen teoretično- metodološki okvir analize, v tem delu pa avtor predstavlja rezultate raziskave o stanju civilno-vojaških odnosov v Republiki Sloveniji ter vplivih civilnega nadzora na učinkovitost Slovenske vojske. Raziskava je pokazala, da se v Sloveniji uveljavlja praksa civilnega nadzora nad oboroženimi silami po vzoru drugih demokratičnih držav, vendar problematika prve generacije civilno-vojaških odnosov še ni končana. Uveljavljanje nadzora v praksi zagotavlja podrejenost vojske civilnim oblastem, pri čemer mehanizmi nadzora ne krepijo sposobnosti Slovenske vojske, da učinkovito izpolni svoje poslanstvo. Posledično lahko povzročijo nezadovoljstvo vojske ali izgubo kredibilnosti v javnosti. This article is a continuation of the analysis of cause-effect relations between civilian control and military effectiveness. The first part presented the theoretical and methodological framework, while in the second part, the author presents the results of the study of civil-military relations in the Republic of Slovenia, focusing on the impact of civilian control on the effectiveness of the Slovenian Armed Forces. The study showed that the practice of civilian control over the armed forces in Slovenia follows the example of those in other democratic states. However, the issue of the first-generation civil-military relations has not yet been completed. The enforcement of civilian control in practice provides for a complete subordination of the military to civilian authorities; however, it does not contribute to the ability of the military to effectively execute its missions. Rather, civilian control can cause military dissatisfaction and reluctance, as well as loss of credibility with the society.

scholarly journals Discourse of civil military relations in Nepal

Unity Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 21-32
Author(s):  
Chiranjibi Bhandari ◽  
Rajendra Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Civilian Control ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Military Leaders ◽  
Military Organizations ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Military Institution ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact

A sovereign nation –state requires a strong military institution and the Nepali Army demands its personnel’s obedience, loyalty, sacrifice and discipline to maintain command and control. However, as an established principle, civilian control of the military is desirable to the military control of the state. The concept of Civil Military Relations (CMR) is dynamic, evolutionary and country specific. Such a bond between an official security organization and the public in general change with regime shifts, external imperatives and technological innovations. The impact of regime changes and political movements has been observed in various aspects of politics, society in Nepal is not an exception. In this line, this article deals on the theoretical discourse of CMR, reviews the constitutional and legal provisions and examines the factors influencing CMR in Nepal from the period of modern nationstate formation to present days. Along with existing debates around the role of the Nepali Army in various non-military jobs, this paper proposes multiple perspectives on how different entities, including bureaucrats, politicians and military leaders perceive CMR. Likewise, the writers argue that sharing the responsibilities among the civil society, citizenry and military organizations is one of the most suitable approaches in response to balancing CMR in Nepal.

Long before the Arab Spring

Women Rising ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 149-160
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Women Activists ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Women ◽  
Women's Groups ◽  
Women’S Groups ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Political Marginalization

The Arab Women Solidarity Association United (AWSA United) emerged as an outlet for Arab women in the diaspora to express solidarity and support for women in the Arab world. It pioneered transnational Arab women’s groups that connected Arab women in all six continents. In this chapter, Rita Stephan explores the impact of AWSA United on Arab women activists who, between 1999 and 2011, used cyberfeminism to share their ideological and political marginalization, and how AWSA United helped them foster their collective identity, strengthen their connectivity, and increase their activism.

Non-Financial Determinants and economic fluctuations – evidence from Yemen

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-391
Author(s):  
Sulaiman Abdullah Saif Alnasser Mohammed
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Oil Price ◽  
Research Review ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Additional Reference ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to examine, by way of an analytical research review, the reasons for the fluctuations in the economic growth of the country of Yemen during the period from 2000 to 2014. The authors are trying to generate the answers to the following questions: Has tourism, oil price, politically instability improved? What is the impact of tourism, oil price and politically instability on economic growth before and after turbulence time? We have found that very low number of papers have written about the topic. Yemen, as a developing country, has been under the influence of an turbulence time. The term “turbulence time” refers to the series of independent uprisings that occurred in 2010 across the Arab world. There is a lack of understanding concerning the economic growth status in the existing literature during this period. Design/methodology/approach The authors use vector error-correction model to examine the impact of candidate variables .This review and analysis could provide an additional understanding in terms of the factors contributing to economic growth in Yemen; particularly before and after the turbulence time. Findings Despite oil prices having appreciated and the unemployment rate having improved, particularly after the Arab Spring, political instability has dominated the scope of determinants for economic growth in Yemen. To address the objective of this study. Originality/value This paper provides an additional reference about the economic status of Yemen.

Exit, Resistance, Loyalty: Military Behavior during Unrest in Authoritarian Regimes

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Albrecht ◽  
Dorothy Ohl
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Moving Target ◽  
Mass Mobilization ◽  
Coup D'etat ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
The Military

A few years into the most recent wave of popular uprisings—the Arab Spring—studying regime trajectories in countries such as Syria, Egypt, and Yemen still seems like shooting at a moving target. Yet what has not escaped notice is the central role military actors have played during these uprisings. We describe how soldiers have three options when ordered to suppress mass unrest. They mayexitthe regime by remaining in the barracks or going into exile,resistby fighting for the challenger or initiating a coup d’état, or remainloyaland use force to defend the regime. We argue that existing accounts of civil-military relations are ill equipped to explain the diverse patterns in exit, resistance, and loyalty during unrest because they often ignore the effects of military hierarchy. Disaggregating the military and parsing the interests and constraints of different agents in that apparatus is crucial for explaining military cohesion during such crises. Drawing on extensive fieldwork we apply our principal-agent framework to explain varying degrees and types of military cohesion in three Arab Spring cases: Bahrain, Yemen, and Syria. Studying military hierarchy elucidates decision-making within authoritarian regimes amid mass mobilization and allows us to better explain regime re-stabilization, civil war onset, or swift regime change in the wake of domestic unrest.

The Fourth and Fifth Plenary Sessions of the 13th CCP Central Committee

1989 ◽  
Vol 120 ◽  
pp. 852-862 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Shambaugh
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Central Committee ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Public Security ◽  
Tiananmen Square ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Impact

The Fourth and Fifth Plenary Sessions of the 13th Central Committee(CC) were the first comprehensive central Party meetings to be convened in the aftermath of the suppression of the “pro–democracy” movement in and around Tiananmen Square. Although held roughly four months apart, they can be considered together insofar as both sought to consolidate and confirm the legitimacy of the new hardline leadership. While the agendas of the two plenums varied, both dealt with the impact of the momentous events of April–June particularly in terms of their effects on: leadership personnel; public security; ideology and propaganda; economic policy; civil–military relations; and foreign affairs.

The New Civil-Military Relations

1961 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gene M. Lyons
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Minimum Cost ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fundamental Principle ◽  
Civilian Control ◽  
Military Establishment ◽  
Military Leaders ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military

Historically the character of civil-military relations in the United States has been dominated by the concept of civilian control of the military. This has largely been a response to the fear of praetorianism. As recently as 1949, for example, the first Hoover Commission asserted that one of the major reasons for strengthening the “means of exercising civilian control” over the defense establishment was to “safeguard our democratic traditions against militarism.” This same warning was raised in the report of the Rockefeller Committee on defense organization in 1953. While the overriding purpose of the committee's recommendations was to provide “the Nation with maximum security at minimum cost,” the report made it clear that this had to be achieved “without danger to our free institutions, based on the fundamental principle of civilian control of the Military Establishment.” Finally, during the debate on the reorganization proposals of 1958, senators and congressmen used the theme of a “Prussianized” military staff to attempt to slow down the trend towards centralization in the military establishment.Despite this imposing support, the concept of civilian control of the military has little significance for contemporary problems of national security in the United States. In the first place, military leaders are divided among themselves, although their differences cannot be reduced to a crass contrast between dichomatic doctrines. Air Force leaders who are gravely concerned over the need to maintain a decisive nuclear retaliatory force are by now acknowledging the need to develop a limited war capability.

Arab Awakening and Its Impact on Bangladesh

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 119-134
Author(s):  
Imtiaz Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Social Discourses ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Way ◽  
At Home

Arab Awakening or Arab Spring has caught the imagination of many and has been a subject of intense discussions both at home and abroad. But then what impact did it have outside the Arab world, indeed, in places which remains related to it theologically, economically, socially, gastronomically, through ideas and dogmas such as Bangladesh? Will the impact be limited to politics or will it include the religious discourses as well? Will it boost the economy or see a decline? What about the Bangladeshi diaspora in the Middle East-will it play a different role and contribute to the economic and social discourses back home now that the Arab world is on the way of experiencing greater freedom? Will it transform the religious discourses that have lately infected Bangladesh? Or, will the spirit of the Arab spring be used for narrow political goals? Answers, however, may not be as easy as the queries. The article will try to explain as to why that is the case.

scholarly journals The Arab Spring: The Hope and Reality of the Uprisings, 2nd ed. (Mark L. Haas and David W. Lesch (eds.))

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-101
Author(s):  
Nazar Ul Islam Wani
Keyword(s):  
United States Of America ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Arab World ◽  
The United States ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Political Justice ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Multiple Actors

The Arab Spring was a series of protests which took place in Arab countries against longstanding dictatorial regimes, because of the latter’s inability or refusal to deliver socio-economic and political justice to the common 99 masses. Protests spread like fire and made an impact not only on the governance of the Arab world but also internationally, by involving big players like Russia and the United States of America. Yet these events were intensely complicated, with multiple actors and layers of history involved in each country. The book under review here is one prodigious effort to understand the Arab Spring, considering causes and effects of the uprisings. Structurally, the book is divided into two parts. The first part, consisting of seven chapters, deals with the uprisings in Arab countries; part two, consisting of six chapters, discusses the impact of the Arab Spring on the non-Arab world and their core interests related to the uprisings. 

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